Silkie laying eggs without shell, consistently

[silkiecemani]

Hi, this is my first post but I've been reading the forum for some time.

I have six white Silkies, five hens and one rooster and six Ayam Cemanis, so far I am not sure but I think they are 6 hens. the Ayam Cemanis are not laying eggs yet, and of the five Silkie hens I think three have been laying for a while and one just started.

Anyway, my Silkies that lay eggs have so far been laying with very hard shells, tougher than those on a store bought egg, but bizarrely one has started laying eggs without shells. I think it is one that has just started laying because I kept finding squashed eggs without shells on the floor in the coop in the morning, but today I managed to get one in tact, it is exactly the size and shape of my other silkie eggs, the egg is inside the membrane but there is literally no shell. I can roll it around with my finger and it is all squishy but in tact.

All of the chickens get the same food, they all free range as well, and when I say free I mean they are not in a run they just wander around and then put themselves to bed at night, so I am wonder what is up with this one. I assume the egg will be just as edible as the others, but because I have a rooster, all of the eggs are also fertilized.

Firstly I wonder if anyone else has been in this situation, and second, I wonder if these fertilized shell-less eggs might be the perfect eggs for scientists to use to study the growth of chicken embryos you can see inside the egg without a light. I guess I could probably try to hatch this one out somehow, any suggestions?

Photos attached.

 

[PouleChick]

my girls are pretty new to laying and I get odd eggs pretty regularly! It is possible that it is a hen that is laying normal ones as well, perhaps worth trying to work out who it is and seeing if it really is an every egg problem. I have one hen that regularly gives me eggs like in your pic but is quite capable of laying perfect eggs too. I was starting to get worried as we are a couple of months in but someone on another thread said that it can take up to 6 months to regulate their egg laying and start getting it right most of the time so I'm not worried yet!

Do you have free choice oyster shell or other calcium source available to them? That would be my first thing to check.

 

[silkiecemani]

Hi, thanks for the feedback. So far I've just been mixing egg shells back in to their feed, but will order some oyster shell. I figured they were getting a varied diet as they have a mixed grain feed and they eat virtually all of our leftovers, mashed potatoes, peas, rice, corn, a favorite is spaghetti bolognaise or any pasta that's going... not sure how much calcium is in any of this though!

 

[PouleChick]

not sure how much calcium is in any of this though!

Not enough would be my guess! I'd maybe hold back a bit on the leftovers particularly at this stage of thier growth. They are only young and really need to put down all good resources into their growing bodies while they are at this stage - I'd personally be giving them a good high protein pellet or grain mix feed with calcium on the side (crushed up egg shell is absolutely fine - just put it in a little dish free choice and those that need it would eat it). And then just a small amount of 'treats' (that includes pasta!). The number I keep seeing as a recommendation is no more than 10% of their diets. I probably don't stick to that but then I don't consider herbs / weeds etc from the garden to be a treat - just what chickens eat! It is the 'human food' I am more careful with especially my young birds.

I wonder if these fertilized shell-less eggs might be the perfect eggs for scientists to use to study the growth of chicken embryos you can see inside the egg without a light. I guess I could probably try to hatch this one out somehow, any suggestions?

That wouldn't work - they would be too soft to hold a growing chick and there is no shell to protect from bacteria.